Representatives from Russia and Belarus are scheduled to attend the Helsinki+50 conference in Helsinki next week.
The conference aims to reinforce participating states’ commitment to the principles of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Two government representatives from Russia and three from Belarus are expected to attend the conference, according to information provided by the head and deputy head of the OSCE Chairpersonship Secretariat.
The high-level conference is being hosted by Finland, which currently serves as the OSCE chair.
OSCE is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organisation, which includes members from 57 states and 11 co-operation partners. Its main mission is to gather diplomats from Europe, North America and Central Asia to work out disputes.
Those countries also include Russia and Ukraine — which remain entrenched in a war, following Russia's full-blown invasion of the country in 2022 — as well as Western nations, which have widely supported Ukraine's defence.
Honouring a historic meeting
The anniversary edition of the conference honours the legacy of the historic 1975 Helsinki CSCE meeting, where, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union sat down in Helsinki to address their differences, helping to ease tensions between the two superpowers.
The most recent episode of All Points North travelled back in time to hear what it was really like when Finland played host to East and West. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
